Page 945 - Week 03 - Thursday, 21 March 2019
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efforts. They respected the privacy of individuals and honoured the contributions they received. They have also brought considerable knowledge and experience to this task, and this is reflected in the quality of the report.
I now look forward to getting on with implementing the recommendations which the government has already agreed to in principle. In particular, I welcome the recommendation to sit on the oversight committee to monitor the implementation of these recommendations, which will be chaired by Minister Fitzharris. This is not just another report that will go in a drawer or sit on a shelf. As ministers, we will be directly involved in ensuring that the recommendations are put into action and that we are measuring the outcomes.
At the same time as the review was announced, Minister Fitzharris also established the clinical leadership forum to give clinicians a greater voice in system-wide issues. This is consistent with the review panel’s findings and includes issues such as health services planning and infrastructure, clinical culture, and training and education. We know that we need more and better clinical engagement in decision-making across our health system and the forum is one of the ways we can put that into practice. Expressions of interest to sit on the forum are now being sought and I would encourage clinicians at all levels of our health system to take the opportunity to get involved.
Additionally, in December 2018 we released the nurses and midwives: towards a safer culture strategy to improve the workplace, health and safety of nurses and midwives. This was a piece of work that had been under development for some time. We want staff, patients and visitors to our health service to be protected from harm and feel safe at all times. Importantly, the strategy also includes a range of very practical actions. Two dedicated senior nurse project officers have recently been appointed to implement the strategy: one looking specifically at mental health, and the other working across the rest of Canberra Health Services. For me, as the Minister for Mental Health, that is a particularly important point—that there is a specific nurse dedicated to looking at the mental health issues—because I am cognisant that the issues of staff safety have a particular filter and a particular emphasis that we need to consider from a mental health perspective.
Alongside all this, the CEO of Canberra Health Services is chairing a working group to develop a dedicated occupational violence strategy to define best practice in managing occupational violence. We know that health environments can be challenging at times and we want our staff to have the skills and confidence to identify early where situations are escalating so that they can intervene and prevent violent incidents. Of course, violence against our staff, whether from patients, visitors or even colleagues, is never acceptable, and that message is clear and will continue to be made clear. Where incidents can be prevented, that is the best outcome for all involved, obviously.
On the issues of bullying and complaints resolution, work is already underway. Canberra Health Services and the ACT Health Directorate are introducing an employee advocate role. This position will offer staff an alternative model for the
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